


When Love Became An Act of Defiance

by deandratb



Category: The Doctor Blake Mysteries
Genre: Alternate Universe - World War II, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:55:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22593628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deandratb/pseuds/deandratb
Summary: One of Churchill's most cunning female spies meets a charming soldier who's awaiting deployment, and they try to walk the line between duty and desire.
Relationships: Alice Harvey/Matthew Lawson
Kudos: 4
Collections: The Soldier and the Spy





	When Love Became An Act of Defiance

**Author's Note:**

> This is a repost, to put this intro into the collection where it belongs. By far my most popular AU for Matthew and Alice, it's also the trickiest to write because it requires so much research--WWII is not my era even for American history, let alone Australian or British. I had fun with it though!

****

The year is 1940.

Seeking a way to utilize her unusual abilities, Australian expatriate Alice Harvey accepts a position with the SOE, an espionage organization based in Britain. She becomes one of thousands of female agents engaging in sabotage and reconnaissance against Axis powers, her identity and position within “Churchill’s Secret Army” a closely guarded secret.

An early volunteer for the Second Australian Imperial Force, Matthew Lawson is biding his time in the UK awaiting possible German invasion. While he helps the 18th Brigade bolster the British garrison, he learns of a planned transfer to Libya.

Spending an evening in a busy nightclub with his Army buddies, Lawson spots the striking Agent Harvey. Her sharp mind intrigues him, though he is wary of her dangerous skills.

Matthew’s noble, adventurous charm is difficult for Alice to resist, while unfolding events demand that she focus on her work and avoid any notion of romance.

Lucien Blake, her most trusted Army contact, is becoming ever more erratic as he seeks word of his missing wife and child. Jean Beazley, the widow managing the boarding house where she lives between assignments, is growing suspicious of her frequent absences. And her young protege, SOE trainee Mattie O’Brien, is engaged in a worrisome affair with a local officer.

Will Matthew get to know the woman behind her carefully crafted persona, before he ships off to the Middle East?

Will Mattie learn to put her training first, even as she watches her mentor torn between duty and her own feelings?

Will introducing Blake to Jean help them both find solace in the midst of tragedy?

Or will Alice’s work with the SOE put everyone she cares about in danger?

****

Alice Harvey was raised in a perfectly unexceptional family, where she never felt quite at home. Her interests and skills were not considered proper or appropriate for a ‘young lady’…so Alice decided on her sixteenth birthday that she simply wasn’t going to be one, and that was that. She vanished at seventeen with forged identification and ran wild across Europe, learning and experiencing all she could before the war began.

Matthew Lawson idolized his older brother, who died at twenty when Matthew was not yet grown. It was his example as well as a sense of wanderlust that convinced Matthew to volunteer for one of the very first Australian brigades. With invasion still far from England when he arrived, his assignment in London left him with plenty of time to explore the city and dance the night away with pretty European women.

By the time Matthew spots Alice across the dance floor, she’s developed a reputation for chilly precision in both work and romance. His mates who’ve heard stories of Churchill’s Army tell him not to bother, they warn him he doesn’t stand a chance. It only piques his interest.

A. Harvey, the mysterious spy who’s made herself a legend with her brains and hard work, finds herself distracted by the soldier with the familiar drawl to his words and bright, knowing eyes. For the first time in years, she’s tempted to tell him her name, and so much more.

Matthew Lawson, worlds away from home and itching for adventure, gets more than he bargained for when he chases an enigma who keeps a pistol in her purse and a switchblade in her garter. Their nights together are thunderstorms, bursts of powerful flashing heat.

But when love comes, it hits like lightning–unexpected, inexplicable, unstoppable. It quakes Alice’s perfectly constructed facade to the foundation, and it tugs at Matthew’s carefully guarded heart. When his transfer orders come, they have to decide what matters most, love or country–or risk it all to try and fight for both.

**Author's Note:**

> Title borrowed from "June" by Florence and the Machine.


End file.
